The Washington Commanders went before the Fine Arts Commission on Tuesday, having made some changes it hoped the commission would sign off on.
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The agency tasked with overseeing the design and aesthetics of buildings — a board filled with appointees by President Donald Trump — is particularly interested in the Commanders’ new stadium in part because of its location along East Capitol Street, with renderings showing the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument both part of the visual backdrop.
The last time the team presented its designs, they were told to make improvements to the entrances along the east and west sides of the stadium.
“We’re framing the opening for this entry for the thousands of people that are coming into this stadium,” said Lance Evans, of HKS Architects. “We are breaking the colonnade at this framed entry and this symbolically aligns with that monumental axis.
“We’ve also added a series of horizontals replacing the concave arches,” he continued. “We did this, one, to signify the strength of the entry at the west end of the monumental axis. We did it in a series of elements up at the top of the roof fascia. We also added a projected balcony that’s tied back into a fantastic space on the inside of the stadium.”
The balcony looked out to the west with a view of the U.S. Capitol straight ahead. The vice chair of the commission, James McCrery, still wasn’t satisfied.
“I’ll repeat what I said to you last time, is that your building is weakest where it needs to be its strongest,” he said.
“It doesn’t hold up to your neighbors,” he added, before making clear he didn’t mean the D.C. Armory or the row houses nearby. “Your neighbors are the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.”
McCrery called it “almost great” before encouraging the team to do more to the entrances on each side. He said inspiration might be found from the likes of Soldier Field in Chicago or the stadium known as The Horseshoe where Ohio State University plays football.
“I think they’re providing a really thoughtful review,” said Brian Hanlon, who is the project lead for the city. “The design of the stadium and the concept is, in their words, it’s almost great, it’s almost there.”
The board did manage to give the stadium concept approval, though only for the stadium itself. Hanlon also said the team and the city were looking at ways that the site of the D.C. Armory can be redeveloped after the National Guard vacates that facility.
“It’s being looked at now,” said Hanlon. “It’s too early to right now say what it might be but there’s multiple things that we can consider. I think it just makes the site stronger and more exciting.
“It’s opened up new possibilities,” he added.
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